KINGSTON, R.I. – Sept. 15, 2026 – For local voters, the endless barrage of messages and campaign promises from those seeking elective office can be overwhelming. So much so that voters may still be undecided as to who to cast their ballot for as they near election day.

Two University of Rhode Island students, however, took the initiative earlier this year to build a website that makes information about the state’s legislative elections easier to understand for voters across the state. Created by Nicholas Labriola, a second-year master’s candidate in international relations from Germany and teaching assistant in URI’s Department of Political Science, and Fabio Muscianisi, a sophomore from Italy majoring in chemical engineering, the Rhode Island Elections Project is an independent, nonpartisan initiative that seeks to bridge the gap between government records and civic knowledge.

Their collaborative website, unaffiliated with URI, outlines who is running for office for both the Rhode Island House of Representatives and Senate, what issues they are campaigning on, who they are running against, endorsements, campaign funds raised and who contributed, along with other pertinent election information. The initiative encourages informed participation in local elections while demonstrating how data visualization and technology can strengthen democratic engagement.

“Our goal with this website is not to impose on the voters which candidate is better, but rather to help a person view a candidate who may have similar goals and beliefs as they do,” Muscianisi said, “and make the most informed decision possible in an upcoming election.” 

Educating the community

Muscianisi and Labriola began their website endeavor in May working approximately five hours a day building their own code to make the site operational. While doing the technical work, they’ve also collected data about every Rhode Island House and Senate candidate seeking office this election year to include for public consumption.

The Rhode Island Elections Project platform offers prospective voters more in-depth information about House and Senate candidates looking to represent their respective communities at the State House.

“You can type in a name of a candidate, or your home address, and you’re going to get a personalized ballot, or a profile on the candidate that you’re searching for, with details on their campaign finance, on their campaign priorities, how they were rated by the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, and so forth,” Labriola said. “We have a rating system, and you can see what leadership positions they have in the Senate or the House, if they’re in leadership or not, and their performance as a legislator.”

For incumbents, the website also shows how many legislative sessions a candidate has attended during their terms, what bills they introduced and which ones passed. There is also a full rundown of which political action committees have donated to certain campaigns; Labriola was quite surprised how much has been donated to races that are mostly uncontested.

“We’ve become more uncompetitive than ever before, but at the same time, we’re more expensive than ever as well, which is such a weird irony,” Labriola said.

Both Labriola and Muscianisi hope this website not only better informs Rhode Islanders on who is running for office and where they stand on issues, but also hopefully encourages others to seek office. Labriola says close to two-thirds of all the Rhode Island Senate races are uncontested. They also hope they can expand their work in the future by showcasing both the governor’s race and local municipal elections.

For more information about the Rhode Island Election Project, visit the initiative’s website or follow its profile on LinkedIn.